


Worth Every Penny

by YancyPants



Series: Like Abigail but with a "V" [1]
Category: House M.D.
Genre: Adoption, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Domestic Fluff, Kid Fic, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-15
Updated: 2015-09-15
Packaged: 2018-04-20 21:36:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,192
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4803041
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/YancyPants/pseuds/YancyPants
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>House needs his daughter to crawl so that moving her about the apartment is easier on both him and his leg. Wilson comes home just in time to witness House's unconventional method of encouragement, but then again, when has Gregory House ever been conventional?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Worth Every Penny

**Author's Note:**

> This is incredibly self-indulgent but I had to write this after I watched an episode of AFV. There was a clip where a father was trying to get his child to crawl so he put some money on the floor and she started crawling toward and all I could think was, "House would be that kind of parent" and this fic is the result.

It's not often that James Wilson is surprised by Gregory House and his antics, but it does happen on occasion. For instance, he was surprised the day House had asked him to move back in, for the second time, after the Grace incident, though he wasn't surprised when House made life a living hell after he did so. And he definitely wasn't surprised by the lack of sleep he got on that dreadful couch.

Not long after moving back in, by some strange turn of events that still baffle Wilson, they started dating, much to his surprise and no one else's.  Sometime after that, House had thrown an engagement ring at him, betting on Wilson's reflexes to save him from getting smacked in the face with a black velvet box. It hit the oncologist in the middle of his forehead then landed on his desk with a simple thud, waiting to be opened.

"Pick a date and let's get hitched," House had said, standing just in front of Wilson's desk leaning forward on his cane. Not exactly the most romantic way he could have proposed, but Wilson got the point and slid the simple black ring, with it's sole embellishment  of one diamond in the middle, on his ring finger, then proceeded to rub his forehead because House had been a little heavy handed on that toss.

After three years of marriage, or civil union as House amends at every possible chance he gets, and continuous bouts of rehab and pain management for House, children had seemed the next logical step in their relationship, according to Wilson. When House didn't argue the two found themselves with an overenthusiastic adoption agent and a collection of paperwork more impressive than anything either of them had encountered in their time at Princeton Plainsboro Teaching Hospital. And the sheer number of interviews they had been subjected to made Wilson want to strangle both House, for acting an ass every time, and himself for suggesting adoption in the first place.

Now, at 39 and married for the fourth time, James Wilson comes home everyday to his partner and husband Gregory House, and their 8 month old daughter Avigail Wilson-House, spelled with a V on purpose for reasons only known to House, and hyphenated in that order because House had been stubborn and unyielding on his surname being the most prominent.

She's absolutely gorgeous, with a smattering of dark brown hair, with brown eyes to match, olive skin, and a smile that Wilson knows will get her out of trouble the moment she understands how to use it against her fathers, himself especially. Until then he's content to watch her smile when they're playing, or when he comes home from work and she sees him for the first time in hours.

...Or when House is teasing her from across the room.

"House," Wilson starts slowly, stepping into the apartment, watching the two interact. "What are you doing?"

House regards him for a moment before answering frowning a bit as he does so. "Getting our kid from point A to point B without picking her up."

Wilson’s eyebrows knit together. "So you thought you'd taunt her into moving across the living room? She's not a dog, House, you'll have to pick her up."

"Not if I can get her to crawl."

Wilson pinches the bridge of his nose. "Greg," he says, lapsing into using his first name in exasperation. "She'll crawl when she’s ready to, she just barely hit 8 months. She still has time before we need to worry about that milestone."

"I'm not worried about the milestone stuff, I'll leave that to you, mommy dearest.” Wilson sighs at the title he’s been given but doesn’t interrupt. “I'm just tired of bending down to pick her up and move her for every little thing."

"That's a little selfish, don't you think?"

House narrows his eyes. "I'm crippled, James."

Oh right. The leg. And bending down. Bad combination.

"Noted," Wilson says. He wastes no more time questioning House and instead enters their shared apartment completely and closes the door behind him quietly. House returns to his task of getting the baby on the floor from one side of the room to the other. So far the only result is Avigail, flailing on the floor situated on her stomach and none too pleased by the that. Her smile falters and frustration bubbles up in the form of cries and gurgles that mingle into a growl and pull at Wilson's heart. When he moves to pick her up, Houses gives his own growl and Wilson stops immediately.

"Leave her there." House glowers at Wilson.

"She's frustrated!" Wilson gestures to the baby and her aborted attempts at pushing herself from the ground. She's almost propelling herself backwards in her effort to move forward.

"So am I," House grinds out through his teeth. "You seem frustrated too, we should start a club."

Wilson grumbles but backs away from the baby and leaves House to continue. Avigail pushes against the floor with all her might but she remains in her spot whimpering at House in a desperate attempt to be picked up. When she starts to cry in earnest, Wilson folds his arms over his chest and looks pointedly at House.

"Gonna keep this up or do you want to try something else?"

House purses his lips. "Got any suggestions?"

Wilson shakes his head. "Aside from letting her figure it out later _when she's ready?_ No."

It takes all of Wilson's willpower to remain standing just behind House instead of running to pick up his baby, because if he does it now he knows she'll continue to cry to get her way and that's no good.

"Have you tried encouraging her at all?"

"With food, toys, and the promise of a monster truck marathon."

"Well, I'd stay put too with a pitiful bribe like that," Wilson says under his breath. His mind drifts and as it does he figures when she calms down he'll go over and pick her up,no sense in prolonging the agony.

House's cane smacks against his chest forcing him to back up.

"Ow! Why?" Wilson's chest throbs enough for him to put a hand to it to soothe the burning sensation.

"I've got an idea." House lowers his cane again and uses it as leverage to reach the floor. He sits just across the way from Avigail and pulls a twenty dollar bill from his pocket. Wilson has no idea what House plans to do with it but he keeps his mouth shut to await the outcome.

"Come on, Gail. You make it across the room and you can keep this." House waves the twenty in his hand then puts it on the ground just in front of his folded left leg, the right one still straight for comfort.

Wilson pinches the bridge of his nose again. Unbelievable and yet totally predictable.

"You're actually bribing our baby? With money?"

"Yup." House pops the P on that one.

"What's a baby going to do with twenty dollars?"

House makes like he's thinking before answering. "Chew on it."

"Oh, well as long as you're investing in something important."

"It's your twenty."

Wilson rolls his eyes. "Of course it is." He can't pretend like he's surprised.

He's surprised when Gail stifles her cries with one last sniffle and begins grunting again. Her little arms slam against the floor and push her chest away from the ground. Her legs are still situated straight behind her so she manages to look like the tiniest yoga instructor demonstrating the cobra stretch and Wilson is certain his heart can't take much more.

"Bend your knees, kiddo," House says and by an amazing coincidence Gail actually manages to get her knees underneath her torso. On all fours, she begins to rock forward then backward then forward again. Her left arm slips just enough for her to glide forward and Wilson swears he can see a glint of understanding in her eyes, akin to the look House gets when he's had an epiphany.

Gail tests the motion again and moves her arm and then a leg and before Wilson has time to think she’s crawling toward House and nothing can stop her. The tap tap tap of her hands against the floor and the shuffle-scrape of her knees melts Wilson’s heart and even House can’t help but give a fond smile in her direction. When Avigail finally gets into a rhythm it takes her no time to cross the floor and come right up to the twenty in front of her. She looks at it, tilts her head and grumbles at it then sits down with a soft thud. Now Wilson can see that she's clad in her brown onesie emblazoned with the phrase _My daddy is an Arrogant Bastard_ , a gift from the ducklings that he was not fond of but House got a kick out of it so it hadn't been returned. It seems appropriate at the moment though, as a smug grin pulls at House's mouth. He just got his daughter to crawl which Wilson will readily admit is impressive. No matter how unconventional House's method of motivation was.

Wilson laughs when Avigail looks up at him and House before slamming a fist on the floor, grabbing at the cash. She gets her fingers around the edge and slides it closer to her allowing her fingers to find better purchase on the paper. It crumples slightly in her hand as she pulls it against her chest.

"Muh?" Avigail questions still holding the bill to her chest or at least it sounds like a question to Wilson.

"Yes, honey, it's yours," Wilson replies. He pulls off his coat and hangs in on the coat rack, something he had forgotten to do upon entering the door as he was too distracted by House and Gail. He picks up his daughter from House's lap and holds her to his chest. "I'm not sure what you're going to do with it, but it's yours." He kisses the top of her head causing her to giggle and flail in his grip.

House clears his throat from his position on the floor and looks up at Wilson expectantly who, in return, simply lifts his eyebrows at the interruption.

"Did you need something?" Wilson asks innocently while bouncing Avigail on his hip.  

"No, I thought I'd just stay down here for the foreseeable future and contemplate my place in the universe."

Wilson shakes his head. "Drama queen. Let me put Gail down and I'll help you up."

After she's put down Gail flops about on the couch while Wilson does his best to get House up from the floor without aggravating his leg.

"Better?"

"Much."

"Bah!"

House and Wilson turn to see Gail, still on the couch, falling over slowly to the left. She lands with a soft plop and giggles again amused by nothing particular then shoves her empty fist in her mouth and chews on it lightly, letting out inquisitive noises every once in awhile, periodically loosening and tightening her grip on the money in her other hand.

"I can't believe you got her to crawl by giving her twenty dollars."

"Well now she knows the value of hard work," House states with a shrug. Wilson purses his lips and hums in mock agreement.

"Are you saying you'll give her twenty dollars every time she does 'hard work'? That's a hefty allowance." Wilson receives a glare as his answer and responds with his own chuckle. "I thought not. We still need to figure out what to do with the money though, if we just take it she'll throw a fit."

House shrugs. "Help her put it in her baby book, date it and we can explain why there's a twenty in place of a picture of her crawling when she's older."

Wilson stops for a moment to think.That's actually not a bad idea.

"You should help."

"I'll cheer you on from the doorway, just let me find my pom poms first."

Wilson can only chuckle again."At least film it while you stand there okay?"

House doesn't argue. He just makes his way over to the couch and scoops Avigail up and swings her into the air praising her for upholding the tradition of taking Wilson's money making Wilson smile in a mix of exasperation and fondness. House moves away from the couch with their daughter balanced in one arm so that he can grip his cane with the other and turns in the direction of the hall toward the other end of the apartment.

"Shall we?" House asks throwing his head in a gesture toward their daughter's room.

Wilson nods and follows House to Gail's nursery. On his way he thinks about what has just happened and he can't help but think that he more or less just spent twenty dollars to see his daughter crawl today.

He honestly can't think of a better way to spend his money as he follows House into the room, picking up his video camera and Gail's photo album along the way.  

**Author's Note:**

> [Gail's Onesie](http://pull01.kegworks.netdna-cdn.com/media/catalog/product/cache/1/image/9df78eab33525d08d6e5fb8d27136e95/a/b/aba-onesie-6m-bstardone-b3_1.jpg) I couldn't help myself i saw it and it was perfect.


End file.
